Don't Think of a Purple Elephant
by foobar137
Summary: It's a simple bet. Phineas has years of experience in not kissing Isabella; what's three more days? And so begins three of the longest days of Phineas's life... Phinbella fluff stand-alone piece (four chapters). Trope bingo: wager
1. July 1

**Trope Bingo: wager (free square, wildcard)**

**Partial inspiration from Lowrider (FFN)'s Summer of Love and outtabreath (AO3)'s The Wager.**

**Many many thanks to Sabrina06 (FFN) for advice on Canada Day.**

**This is a fairly short piece, but it breaks nicely into four chapters.**

**Timeline: Phineas/Ferb/Isabella are all fifteen.**

* * *

Ferb turned the calendar to July. The July Fourth party was just a few days away. It was getting to be time for drastic action.

Phineas wandered into the kitchen, looking for breakfast. He filled a bowl with cereal, added milk, and sat next to Ferb. "Any ideas for today?" he asked between swallows.

Ferb shook his head.

Phineas sighed. "Do you think Isabella will come over today?"

A smile slowly crept across Ferb's face. "Why do you ask? Are you...interested in her?"

Phineas started, looking at Ferb. "What? Why...how...I..."

Ferb raised an eyebrow. "I've seen how you've been noticing her this summer."

"Have I been that obvious?"

Ferb nodded.

Phineas looked at him like a trapped animal. "But...what do I do about it?"

Ferb pondered for a moment. "I'd been figuring you were just about to kiss her. I'd bet you're going to before Friday, at the rate you've been going."

"Friday? That's the Fourth. Why by Friday?"

"You've seemed close to it several times recently. I would bet money you kiss her before the party on Friday, if you haven't already."

Phineas's eyes narrowed. "How much money?"

Ferb shook his head. "I couldn't take your money. I know you can't afford to lose any right now."

Phineas snorted. "Oh, it is _on_, Ferb. How much money are you willing to bet?"

Ferb sighed. "I need another ten for the Space Adventure game that's coming out next week."

"Okay. Ten dollars that I don't kiss Isabella before..."

"The party starts at 3, but nobody ever shows up on time, so we'll say 5pm on Friday."

Phineas held out his hand. "It's a bet."

Ferb kept the smile off his face as he shook on it.

* * *

_This is going to be the easiest ten dollars I've ever made,_ Phineas thought. _I've spent the last ten years not kissing Isabella; what's three more days?_

"What'cha doin'?"

Phineas looked over at the gate, and started to respond, "Hi..." before he was dumbstruck. Isabella had grown up, he'd known that. She still had long black hair, and riveting dark-blue eyes; puberty had given her some rather enthralling curves as well. She'd dressed up a bit today, it seemed - a clingy blouse and a nice - but short - skirt. And suddenly her beauty hit Phineas like a brick. He'd known she was attractive for years, but he'd never really been at the point where he was ready to do anything about that...but now the idea of getting her alone and kissing her seemed more tempting than anything he'd ever known.

"I...we...haven't figured out what we're doing yet," he managed to stammer. "Why are you dressed up today?"

She smiled at him, and said, "I just felt like it. I figured there must be something to celebrate today. Do you like it?"

Phineas nodded, not trusting his voice.

From off to the side, he heard Ferb say, "It's Canada Day today. Perhaps we're celebrating that?"

Phineas latched onto this idea. "That's a great idea! I know what we're going to do today! Je sais ce qu'on va faire aujourd'hui! Où est Perry? Where's Perry?"

* * *

They'd decided to do a small fireworks show and mini-parade for Canada Day, but Phineas kept getting distracted by Isabella. He found himself just watching her instead of working on the float, until Ferb cleared his throat.

Phineas shook his head. "Sorry. Just distracted."

_You've known her for years. Why is today any different?_ He watched her long black hair get caught by a small gust of wind and blow over her shoulder; she brushed it back with her hand unconsciously. His hand twitched with a desire to run his fingers through it.

Ferb cleared his throat again.

"Sorry, sorry. Let's get this finished."

* * *

At the end of the parade, they'd all gathered in the back yard for cake and to watch the fireworks. Behind them, the float mysteriously disappeared just before Linda could see it. Isabella drifted over by Ferb, still dressed in his Mountie uniform.

"What's up with Phineas?" she asked. "He's suddenly paying a lot more attention to me today. I didn't dress _that_ differently, did I?"

Ferb smiled. "I think he's starting to realize he may have some feelings for you. Give him a little time to sort it out, and I think he'll surprise you."

Isabella smiled brightly. "Really? You think...really?"

Ferb nodded.

"Should I keep dressing up?"

Ferb smiled and nodded.


	2. July 2

Phineas woke up later than usual. He'd been dreaming about Isabella all night - not unusual recently, but last night's dreams had been more intense than typical. He'd dreamed of kissing her, holding her, lying next to her...with a groan he rolled out of bed, quickly checking to confirm he didn't need new sheets.

Ferb was eating breakfast by the time he got downstairs. "One day down," Phineas said to him as he walked past.

"Two and a half to go," Ferb replied. "And at the rate you're going, I doubt you'll last the day."

Phineas shut up.

* * *

Isabella walked through the gate and saw Phineas elbow-deep in a large mechanical robot of some sort. She sighed as she saw him; he'd grown up over the last few years, and his red hair had grown longer - it looked like a perfect length to run her fingers through now. He was taller than her now, even if he was still shorter than Ferb, and had a long and lean build that she never tired of looking at. "What'cha doin?" she asked.

He didn't look up from inside the robot. "Hi, Isabella! We're building a robotic dog walker! It'll also walk a platypus. Speaking of which, where's Perry?"

Everyone shrugged.

Isabella came over and looked over Phineas's shoulder. "Cool! Can it walk Pinky for me?"

Phineas turned around, almost bumping into her as she stood behind him. "Sure..." His voice trailed off, as he suddenly realized how close they were.

Isabella stepped back and blushed. He was looking at her; she'd picked out her outfit extra-carefully today. A short, light sundress with a belt to make it cling where it needed to; from the way Phineas's eyes bulged, it seemed to be having the desired effect.

"...I...um..." he stuttered, looking at...her lips? _That's weird. I figured he'd be looking a bit lower than that._

He shook his head like he was trying to clear his thoughts. "Want to help?" he asked shyly.

"I'd love to! What do you want me to do?"

"Can you prepare the leads for the dogs? The parts are over there," he said, gesturing to a box of ropes and snap hooks.

"I'm on it!" she said.

* * *

Ferb had had to clear his throat so many times that Baljeet was recommending throat lozenges.

_I do appear to have out-clevered myself a bit,_ he thought. _Ah, well. It's not like he'll be much better once they do kiss._

Phineas was looking at Isabella again instead of programming the robot. Ferb looked up, knowing what he'd find. Sure enough, Isabella wasn't getting much work done either, being too preoccupied with Phineas looking at her.

Ferb sighed deeply, causing Phineas to wake from his trance. "Sorry," Phineas said.

Ferb nodded. _I just need you to hold out one more day, Phineas. Sorry; I should have made the bet until Friday morning. Or maybe not started until today. _He saw Phineas peek at Isabella again. _Or even tomorrow._

* * *

"It's really too bad we couldn't find Perry or Pinky before the dog-walker ran away," Phineas said. "Oh, there you are, Perry." He picked up the platypus and carried him indoors.

Isabella looked at Ferb. "Did I overdo it today? I certainly got his attention, but he seemed...almost overwhelmed."

Ferb pondered. "It might be wise to tone it down tomorrow, I think."

* * *

Lying in bed that night, Phineas called out across the bedroom, "Ferb? Did you know this was what would happen when you made the bet? Did you realize that telling me not to kiss Isabella was like telling me not to think of a purple elephant?"

"The thought had occurred to me."

Phineas tried to plot revenge against his brother, but kept getting sidetracked by thoughts of long flowing black hair, midnight blue eyes, and soft red lips. And, occasionally, purple elephants.

* * *

**When I was a kid, I was told that my wishes would come true if I could stand in a corner and not think of a purple elephant while I made them.**

**Go ahead and try it if you'd like. Best of luck to you.**


	3. July 3

Phineas lay in bed, trying not to think about Isabella.

And failing.

_This is not a promising start to a day that doesn't involve kissing her at some time_, he thought.

_Maybe I can pretend to be sick in bed._

_Knowing Ferb, he'd bring her over to nurse me back to health._

He sighed and sat up.

"What, you aren't looking forward to seeing your girlfriend?" Ferb asked.

Reflexively, Phineas said, "She's not my girlfriend," just as he'd done many times during the school year when people teased him about his relationship with Isabella. As he realized what he'd said, he winced. "I said that around her all year, didn't I?"

Ferb nodded.

Phineas put his head in his hands. "I am such an idiot. Should I just pay you the ten bucks now and be done with it?"

Ferb looked at him for a moment, then said, "Sure, why not? I knew you couldn't last."

Phineas's head snapped up. "Why, you...no. I can do this. You're going down, Ferb. D-O-W-N, down."

* * *

Isabella was back in a more casual outfit today, fortunately. Not that she wasn't almost as eye-catching in a T-shirt and jeans as she was in the sundress, but at least it was a more familiar distraction, Phineas thought.

"What'cha doin?" she asked, and he couldn't help but smile. _Thirty-two hours to go. And then...what if she doesn't want to kiss me? What if..._

Ferb spoke up. "We haven't decided yet. Any suggestions?"

Isabella thought for a moment. "It was kinda too bad that Pinky and Perry both missed the dog-walker yesterday. Maybe you could invent something to figure out where they go?"

Phineas perked up. "That's a great idea! Hey, where is Perry, anyway?"

* * *

Phineas said, "I present...the Perry-Tracker 3000!"

Isabella looked over the results. "It looks like a robot version of Perry."

Phineas looked at her and smiled, and his eyes glazed over.

Ferb sighed. _Isabella-Land again._ Isabella had the same sort of silly grin on her face. _Presumably she has a Phineas-Land of her own._ He elbowed Phineas; throat-clearing had ceased being effective hours ago.

Phineas jumped a little. "Sorry. Yes, it's meant to go anywhere that Perry can go. It'll try to trace him wherever he's hiding. If this works, we can try again with Pinky."

Isabella sighed dreamily.

* * *

Phineas sat at the control panel, ignoring what was going on on the screen as he quietly talked to Isabella, sitting next to him. She was blushing a lot; so was Phineas.

Ferb tried to see what was on the screen, but Phineas's head was in the way. He moved over to the side; now Isabella's head was in the way. He could see that it was in an odd laboratory of some kind, but couldn't see Perry at all, just some old guy in a lab coat. _Actually, that looks like Vanessa's father. That's odd._

Vanessa's father pointed at the Perry-Tracker with a remote, and pushed a button. The screen suddenly went black.

Phineas and Isabella jumped and looked at the screen. "Awww," Phineas said. "Now we'll never know." They stood up from the control panel just as a beam of light came down and caused it to vanish without a trace, revealing Perry behind it. "Oh, there you are, Perry."

Linda came out into the back yard. "Who wants snacks?" Phineas led the charge into the kitchen; Isabella hung back to talk to Ferb.

"I think he's just about there, Isabella," Ferb said. "I would bet money he tries to kiss you tomorrow."


	4. July 4

_And now to set the hook,_ Ferb thought as he joined his brother for breakfast.

"Just nine hours to go," Ferb said. "Think you can make it?"

"Not a problem, bro."

"I'll double the bet if you want to push the cutoff until midnight."

"No!" Phineas said quickly. "No, that's okay. I can't take too much of your money, Ferb, you'll never be able to afford your game."

_If they haven't kissed by 5:15 I'll dye my hair purple._

* * *

_It's a good thing we aren't trying to invent anything today,_ Ferb thought. _Phineas is so distracted he would have killed himself by now._

Phineas had dressed up a bit - an actual collared shirt and khakis, unusual for him - but Isabella had gone for highly-attractive casual. The tank top and tight shorts had guaranteed her Phineas's almost undivided attention, and he'd had enough trouble helping to set up for the party without catching himself in the folding tables. He'd been wandering around the party with her for almost two hours now. As Ferb watched, Phineas checked the time again, then smiled and started counting down the seconds. Ferb pulled up his phone and checked the time on it himself: 5 o'clock on the dot. Phineas looked at him and mouthed the words, "You lose," as he led Isabella off to the side of the house where they might find a bit of privacy.

Ferb switched his phone over to camera mode, waited thirty seconds, and followed them. He peeked carefully around the corner, then realized he hadn't needed stealth; the two of them were so focused on each other that they wouldn't have noticed a freight train going past.

They were talking too low for him to hear them; Isabella looked down shyly and then peered back up at Phineas through her lashes. Phineas said something to her and she laughed, looking back up at him again and reaching up to run her hand along his cheek. She said something back, and Phineas leaned down to kiss her.

Their first kiss was tentative and hesitant, as if to confirm that, yes, they were really doing this. They paused briefly to look in each others' eyes, then their mouths dove towards each other like they were trying to merge together. What little separation there had been between the couple was gone as their arms wrapped around each other. Isabella's left leg bent at the knee, popping her foot off the ground perfectly as she leaned into Phineas's embrace.

Ferb held up his phone and snapped a picture, sending it off with a two word subject line: "I win." He checked the timestamp on the message: 5:08.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella wandered back into the party hand-in-hand, only to be congratulated by their friends and told, "About time, you two."

Phineas looked at Candace and asked "How did everybody know? What's going on?"

Candace showed him her phone, with a picture of him and Isabella kissing deeply. "Ferb just sent this out. So either he's gotten really good with Photoshop, or he just won the betting pool."

"What betting pool?" Phineas asked suspiciously.

"When you two would finally hook up, duh," Candace answered.

Isabella blushed and squeezed Phineas's hand. "Can you send me a copy of that picture?" she asked Candace.

"Who was in this pool?" Phineas asked.

"Pretty much everyone. Except you two, obviously," Candace said.

Off to the side, Linda said, "Ferb, I don't have my purse. Lawrence, can you cover me?"

"I can, love. Here you go, Ferb, this should take care of both of us", Lawrence said, handing Ferb ten dollars.

Phineas's jaw dropped. "Mom? Dad? You too? Was Isabella's mother in on this as well?"

"Oh, of course she was. I told Vivian her guess was too optimistic; she picked the first of June. I really thought it would take another couple weeks, though," Linda said.

"Hah," Candace said. "I picked yesterday. Why did you have to wait until today?"

Phineas looked at Ferb, still collecting his winnings. "Why indeed?" Phineas asked, his eyes narrowing.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella were laying back in the grass pointing at the clouds when Ferb came over. "Here's the tenner I owe you, Phineas," he said.

Phineas sat up, as did Isabella. He accepted the offered bill, then gave Ferb a devious look. "You totally cheated in the betting pool, you know. You're not supposed to try to influence the results."

"Technically, that was never stated as part of the rules," Ferb answered defensively.

"I'm sure Candace would love to hear that interpretation," Isabella said with a grin.

Ferb winced and handed Phineas another bill. "Here's an extra ten dollars. Take your girlfriend out for ice cream tomorrow."

Phineas started to respond, "She's not..." before he realized what he was saying. He looked at Isabella in wonder and asked, "Is she my girlfriend?"

Isabella smiled at him coyly. "She is if you want her to be."

Phineas said, "Yes, yes I do," and leaned over to kiss her again.

Ferb escaped while they were suitably distracted.

* * *

**...and, like Ferb, I'll make my exit here as well.**

**Thank you to everyone who's read this far, and to everyone who's favorited or followed it. I do notice and appreciate it.**

**Extra-special thanks to my reviewers - I've been enjoying watching your responses as the chapters have gone up, knowing what was waiting for you here at the end. I spend far too much time waiting for the 'new mail' light to light up on my phone.**

**The next story may or may not be in the Foundation timeline. (I haven't decided. It could go either way. I may officially refuse to decide.) Working title is "Visions of the Future", but it may get pre-empted by another story. No time estimate for when it goes up.**


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